ENN recommends big changes to school funding as part of Fund Our Future Nevada

Educate Nevada Now is a founding partner of Fund Our Future Nevada, a statewide coalition of parents, educators, students, organizations, and individuals dedicated to ensuring every child has the resources necessary to succeed in our schools.   Formed in February of 2018, the coalition has already gained traction.  Hundreds have joined the effort at FundOurFutureNV.com by signing the pledge.

Recently, ENN and FOFNV submitted formal recommendations to the Legislative Committee on Education detailing critical and urgent legislative initiatives that are necessary to ensure fair and adequate funding for Nevada students.  The initiatives included:

1. Transitioning to a cost-based funding formula, where schools are given the resources necessary to achieve the state’s own mandates and standards;

2.  Ensuring new funding sources that are supposed to be dedicated to education, such as marijuana and room taxes, actually increase funding for schools; and

3.  Creating reasonable accountability measures that help ensure school funds are used in ways that help students succeed.

Currently, Nevada operates under a 50-year-old funding formula that does not take into consideration the actual costs schools and districts face.  As other states have linked what they expect from students, teachers, and schools to the resources necessary to get them there, Nevada continues with an outdated, irrational, and inadequate funding scheme.  ENN and FOFNV believes it is time to move beyond the status quo, and that big change is possible when the community understands the need for change.   For more detail on these important initiatives, please read our recommendations here.